Soul Searching
by Angel of Death7
Summary: Himura Kenshin's soul had reincarnated in the 20th century but then he cannot move on from his past and it is still haunting him with dreams that can hurt him emotionally, mentally and physically.
1. Default Chapter

A soul will move on after death and will live again in a different life and time through reincarnation. Himura Kenshin's soul had reincarnated in the 20th century but then he cannot move on from his past and it is still haunting him.  
  
I don't own the anime series Rurouni Kenshin or its characters so don't sue me. I'm just a humble first time fanfic writer. I hope you enjoy this and please review:)  
  
Searching for an answer  
  
Prologue  
  
It all started one hot Saturday afternoon. I was just barely four years of age back then. I could still remember it quite clearly. The small place near the staircase in the living room was my personal playground, equipped with my broken toys and some unconventional play things like a broom. We had never been rich and I guess we never will be.  
  
I was dressed in a dark green denim jumper and a pair of red socks that my real father owned. My fiery red hair hadn't grown too much and that felt a little bit weird. It was as if it wasn't what I had been used to. It was just long enough to cover the back of my neck. I always ended up trying to pat the back of my neck as if trying to locate a ponytail or something. It was ridiculous, but that's the truth.  
  
My mother was upstairs at that time. She was fair skinned and her hair was also crimson like mine. Her eyes were blue though very different from my purple ones.  
  
That woman never spent time with her dear old son. The 'boyfriend' was always around and she really had to attend to his needs… But he never really loved her back just like my father. They didn't care about her at all.  
  
I did, but she never listened to me.  
  
I loved her because I felt as if I never had a mother before but then she would always run after that 'boyfriend' of hers. Sometimes I would chat with her in a way that a four year old genius could. I could already speak but I couldn't pronounce some words. I would tell her that "I have no Okaa- san before mama. Okaa-san died." but she would just ask me "What the hell are you talking about baby and what the hell is an Okaa-san?"  
  
Anyway it was already one o' clock in the afternoon. Mother forgot to feed me again, as usual. I thought about trying to climb up the stairs to go to her room so I could wail and let her remember that there was another hungry human being in the house but I quickly dismissed that thought. She was in a bad mood again. My ears could clearly hear her screams. There were also sounds of glass breaking. A strong manly voice would battle over the loudness of her shrieks.  
  
"Get out of my house! Get out!" That was my mother's voice. Sounds of something big hitting hard against the wall. Another scream and now the sound of a woman crying.  
  
"Shut up you! Now give me what I want and I'll leave!" That was the 'boyfriend'. He was angry. I could feel his anger. How? I don't know but I knew that at that time that I could sense it. It was a discomforting feeling that further discouraged me to help her out. I could only watch their shadows on the wall of the room upstairs from my place at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"No! No!" She would scream but she could not stop that man from taking something from her. He walked out of the room immediately, a small wooden jewelry box tucked under his left arm. The man skidded down the carpeted steps, passing by me, not even realising that I was there. He walked through my territory and my toys and then proceeded to a small side table that was beside a couch in the middle of the room. A lamp, a telephone, some notes and a few picture frames were there but he only snatched a small frame and an address book that fit into his pant's right side pocket.  
  
Mother followed him, dressed only in her silk night gown that looked as if it would slip from her slim body as she ran. Her long wavy red hair was a mess. As soon as she reached him, she punched him hard at his back.  
  
"Give it back! That's stealing!" she cried but that did not help her at all. His supressed rage hit its limit. He turned around and punched my mother right in the middle of her tummy. She fell down to the floor in pain.  
  
That did it.  
  
I got up from my corner automatically. My heart began to race. I had to do something. I had to protect her. My eyes searched around for something that I could use as a weapon. I needed – a katana? That's weird but the idea of using one felt comforting but also idiotic. Mother would never let a thing as dangerous as that in the house but then… brooms are okay for her. I picked up my 'toy' broom and gripped the wooden handle with both of my hands. My body went into a stance suprisingly familiar to me, but not to my small body.  
  
My mother's boyfriend was already on his way to the front door. I couldn't let him get away. The couch was three feet away from that man. It was six feet away from the entrance. The back of the couch faced the door.  
  
Perfect, I thought for some reason I couldn't still comprehend.  
  
The next thing I knew was that I ran towards it as fast as my small feet could and rushed up the couch and jumped from the head rest. Mother could only watch as I cried my battle cry and hit the man's head with the other end of the broom. The handle broke at the impact. There was loud cracking sound as the broom and the man's head gained contact. Mother's boyriend fell to floor face first after that. When I heard it, I immediately let go of my hold and fell on top of him. What was left of the broom fell a little bit away from his body.  
  
It was over.  
  
I turned my little red head to face my shocked mother and smiled. Blood was drained out of her face for she was paler than usual. "Baby…" she mouthed to herself a few times and winced before she got the strength to stand up on her own feet. Mother looked at her now ex-boyfriend in fear and made sure that he was still knocked out before she rushed to my side.  
  
The feeling was exquisite. Mother never paid attention to me before. I was all smiles. She hugged me and lifted me off the floor. She kissed my cheeks and cried for me. And for the first time I felt that mom loved me.  
  
"How did you do that, baby?" She asked me in disbelief. I shrugged and then smiled again, my short arms hugging her neck. I just wanted her to stop asking me and to just hug me some more but she wouldn't stop her questions. Mother carried me to the couch and continued her interrogation.  
  
"Come on baby! How did you do that?"  
  
I didn't answer. I just kept hugging her instead.  
  
I think that irritated her for in her next question she called me using a name I never heard before.  
  
"Tell me Kenneth!" Her voice was now demanding. I stopped my hugs and removed my arms around her neck. I looked at her cluelessly.  
  
"That's not my name Okaa-san"  
  
"Yes it is!" Mother continued, feeling a little bit irritated " I named you Kenneth Borden. Don't you remember? And besides what the hell is an Okaa- san?"  
  
No… I did not remember nor am I familiar with that name. The name I was familiar with was different, even different from the nick name (baby) that mother called me all the time.  
  
"No I don't. For that's not my name at all" I told her quite seriously, my little hands cupping the sides of her face. My purple irises peered into her own blue ones. "My name is Himura Kenshin, mother… Himura Kenshin…" 


	2. Chapter1: Ten Years Later

Chapter 1: After 10 years  
  
It was a Monday on the first week of the month of September. Almost all the schools in California had started opening for a new school year, accepting students old or new. New students had to pass through the principal's interrogation, especially if he or she have some kind of record. I did, that's why I'm in this big fat bozo's filthy unkempt office. The principal, better known as Mr. Mauris Blake by the faculty and often called as the 'pig' by my best friend Samwell, was sitting in front of me. He was fixing his multi-colored tie that mismatched his red polo shirt. It was supposed to be a cool thing, as Samwell would report to me over the phone. He had a goatee and his hair must have fallen out the summer before for only a few were left to cover his big head. The black circular eye glasses he wore magnified his hazel irises and made them look ten times larger. The principal's chubby fingers twiddled on his black Parker pen as he studied my resume and my past school grades.  
  
"Ah! You must be Mr. Kenneth Borden"  
  
My fingers automatically covered my ears. I hated that name. Even the sound of it made me cringe.  
  
"Er… yeah…so what?" I muttered.  
  
The 'pig' flipped a blue folder open and began to rummage the notes and papers inside. He finally pulled out my old school report card, eyes scanning that laminated piece of paper from front to back.  
  
"You have a good conduct grade of B plus but your academics…"  
  
"Are exceptionally low" I continued, with a matter-of-fact tone, before he could actually say it himself. He looked surprised and a little bit amused as I huffed impatiently. I tried to blow away my red scruffed bangs away from my purple eyes before turning my attention to the 'pig'. Mr. Blake quirked a smile before continuing his speech. "Grades are very important in this school Mr. Borden and we will let you finish the whole school year if you improve your grades in the first and second semesters. Do you understand?"  
  
I kept quiet, just silently gazing at his colorful tie. He asked me again and again. I didn't pay attention and I was not interested at all. Strangely, that tie of his was hypnotizing me, rainbow colors swirling before my eyes. I could barely hear that man's voice by now. That was quite strange because he was just sitting in front of me. I could now feel his anger pulsate from his body. I knew quite well that Mauris Blake was annoyed by my silence but I didn't care. I just stared and stared until everything in that room changed before my eyes.  
  
I was no longer in the principal's office nor was I in California. The 'pig', his desk and his unkempt office dissolved into another scenery. The ceiling disappeared and was replaced by a dark cloudy sky. The grey marble tiled floor was now a barren road. I was at an alley that was suprisingly familiar. The scent of blood flooded my nostrils. I looked at my hands. They were covered with blood. Carcasses of soldiers, dead Japanese samurais, wearing weird clothing, were at my feet. Their eyes were open wide, shock evident in their faces. My heart began to race faster and faster. Everything was familiar to me but then the familiarity terrified the hell out of my brain. I tried to move but I failed to do so. There was a weird contraction in my chest. I couldn't breath.  
  
'Please…. Let me out of here….'  
  
"Kenshin"  
  
'Let me be free'  
  
I closed my eyes  
  
"Snap out of it! Kenshin!"  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"  
  
"KENSHIN!"  
  
I opened my eyes. The blood, the bodies and the dark sky faded into light. My mind snapped out of that weird trance. The principal's face was the first thing that I saw as the weird bright light faded . He was kneeling beside me, shaking me by the shoulders. My body was lying on the tiled floor beside the desk. I was breathing hard. I fell from my chair.  
  
Mr. Blake smiled nervously. Beads of sweat on his forehead were soon wiped dry by his handy dandy hankerchief. He stood up and then helped me to my feet.  
  
"I almost forgot about your seizures" he said panting as he moved back to his desk chair "It's a good thing that your old school gave some instructions about how to snap you out of it. Calling you "Kenshin" when that happens is quite a strange medication, don't you think? You really should go to class now. Your room is on the third floor. Room 348. Ms. Marie Smith, your homeroom adviser, would give you further details and your subject schedule. Now go"  
  
I wouldn't hesitate to go out of that room. I hated the look on his face. He was terrified, just like the rest of them and I knew that he wouldn't understand.  
  
"Goodbye" I mumbled and walked away from that 'pig' and his untidy little office. 


	3. Chapter2: First Class

Chapter 2: First Class  
  
The principal shooed me away, his piggy little right hand reached for the telephone as it rang continuously. I said goodbye. He didn't hear it, probably because he was practically shouting over the telephone receiver.  
  
"Not again!" He would cry out. His forehead was all knotted and there were beads of sweat.  
  
I walked towards the hard wooden door and opened it then quickly rushed outside, never even bothering to close it.  
  
My trusty little backpack was out side the room. I took it and put in on my back before I looked around to see where I was.  
  
The hallway where I was standing on looked deserted. It was long. The stairs that would lead me to the second floor was located near the fountain. The lively chatter of the students was replaced by the eerie whisper of the wind. There were no other things within that place other than the old rusty student lockers and the small water fountain at the farthest side of the hallway.  
  
"It's too quiet" I whispered to myself, the silence was very awkward to my senses. It was almost deafening. The only thing that can be heard was the faint ticking of my silver plated Timex wristwatch.  
  
Turning my attention span to this little apparatus attached to my wrist, I watched as the small hand of my watch change its position slowly.  
  
"7:35…" I mouthed, "I'm late for my first class…"  
  
What a way to start my first day  
  
I turned on my heels and started to run towards the end of the hallway. My sneakers skidded against the tiled floor. As soon as I reached the fountain, I turned right then climbed up the staircase.  
  
"7: 38… I got to get there faster…"  
  
I ran like a cheetah. Every step I took was fleeting. I did not even feel the sole of my dark blue sneakers touch the ground. My long red hair, which was fixed in a low ponytail, whipped against the force of the wind. It felt as if I was flying though I never left the earth.  
  
I never stopped to take a rest when I reached the second floor. I turned right again to go up the second staircase.  
  
"7:39…" my feet rambled as I rushed towards my destination. I could see the end of the stairs. Only a few steps more and I'll be there.  
  
"7:40…" finally, I was on the third floor.  
  
When I collapsed in front of the door that would lead me to Room 348, I was already panting like a dog. My mouth was dry and I desperately needed water but the water fountain was, as expected, on the other side of that freshly mopped hall. Darn luck.  
  
The class already started. I could barely hear the teacher talking inside.  
  
There was a small rectangular glass window made within the door. I took a small peek.  
  
The classroom was full of students, male and female that looked quite alert. A blonde woman, about 25 years old or so, wearing a pretty light blue dress, walked gracefully in front of the black board that was on the other side of the room.  
  
"And Tom Sawyer said…" The blonde teacher quoted. She held as book within her hand and it looked as if she was reading aloud an excerpt from it.  
  
"Good!" I whispered to myself "My classmates are too engrossed by what that sexy blonde is teaching. They probably won't even sense me coming in"  
  
There was an empty seat in the last row nearest to the door. I grinned.  
  
Ah! I think lady luck had just begun to shine upon me.  
  
My right hand clasped the shiny metal doorknob and turned it bit by bit until I heard a faint click. I carefully opened the wooden door until the passage way was large enough for me to pass through.  
  
No one in the room flinched. Everyone was still taking down notes.  
  
My right feet took one courageous step forward.  
  
No one sensed me.  
  
I sighed and then continued to take a step. A few more and I'll reach my seat. Then suddenly when I was about to sit down…  
  
"TEACHER! SOMEBODY'S COMING IN LATE!"  
  
A girl about my age, with her black raven hair fixed into a high ponytail, stood up in the middle of the class. Her fiery blue eyes gazed intently upon me as her finger pointed at me shakily. 


End file.
